Legal and Government Affairs

In 2003 the Coalition made tremendous strides by providing the Sikh community a full time lawyer to tackle the legal needs of Sikhs across the country and to drive interaction with government agencies. Made possible by a grant from the Tides Foundation and support from the Sikh community, in particular the Sikh sangat across the New England area, the Coalition was able to hire Amardeep Singh, to head Legal and Government Affairs (p. 7).

The natural alignment between the law and government allows the Coalition to create strong synergy between the two by using government relationships to assist in legal matters, and legal proceedings to educate and raise awareness across government agencies. In addition, the Sikh Coalition continues to link our government relationships with the Education and Community Affairs program areas. Hiring a full time director to head this program area greatly expanded activity for Legal and Government Affairs, much of which is detailed within this annual report.

During 2003 the Sikh Coalition handled up to two dozen cases and other legal matters at any point in time. Most cases involved Sikhs being denied their rights because of their physical identity (see Helping the People section for details); students prevented from attending school; Sikhs arrested for wearing a kirpan; youth denied entry to restaurants; and people harassed by their employer because of their Sikh saroop. Other cases, like that of Amric Singh (p. 4), were much longer ongoing initiatives where the Coalition defended the rights of Sikhs against large, established organizations.

In addition to a large number of cases, Legal and Government Affairs coordinated the introduction of the New Jersey Civil Rights and Civic Engagement Agenda (p. 5). This signifies the first instance of local gurdwaras uniting to put forth a platform for civil rights that local government can use to plan programs and build relations with Sikhs in the state.

In 2003 the Coalition also continued to meet with government officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), congressional offices, governors, state attorney generals, and state education department offices. These ongoing meetings serve to increase awareness of Sikh concerns within government.

Finally, in order to help expand the reach of the Coalition’s limited staff, the Legal and Government Affairs created materials for use by lawyers and laymen to communicate the practices of Sikhs and their legal rights to government officials, school administrators, human resources departments, coworkers, and others who may need legal explanation of the rights of the Sikhs with whom they are interacting. Similarly, the Coalition has begun an effort to establish a national volunteer base of lawyers to assist with the Coalition’s rapidly increasing caseload.

Looking Ahead to 2004-05
In 2004 the Coalition’s Legal and Government Affairs program will expand programs protecting the rights of the Sikhs, and actively work to bring the Sikh community closer to government. The Amric Singh case will again require substantial efforts to continue the fight to force the NYPD to allow Sikhs to serve with their turbans and beards. In addition, the Coalition will launch programs similar to the New Jersey Civil Rights Agenda to get Sikhs more involved with the democratic process. These could also include initiatives increasing Sikh awareness of, and participation in, democratic processes such as exercising the right to vote.

In addition to programming, the primary focus of Legal and Government Affairs will be to increase its ability to serve the community. By expanding its use of legal volunteers into a formal internship program, creating an online reusable set of materials available to Sikhs across the country, expanding alliances with other similarly aligned organizations, and better connecting with the efforts of local Sikh gurdwaras and organizations, the Coalition hopes to expand the benefit the community receives from work the Coalition has already begun.